AN aspiring artist from Barry is hoping to turn a hobby into a full-time career after two of her portrait paintings were presented to well-known celebrity actors.
When Hannah Wild (30) heard of the return of the BBC’s hit comedy series Gavin & Stacey for one final episode on Christmas Day she set out to paint portraits of all 13 cast members in the hope of presenting each to them in person.
With the actors on a tight filming schedule, meeting them proved difficult but Hannah was offered the opportunity of painting the portrait of the award-winning stage and screen actor Timothy Spall (67) who had been filming in the Vale for the new comedy drama Death Valley.
Speaking with the Glamorgan Star, Hannah said: “Unfortunately, due to filming I was not able to meet Timothy in person but got an amazing photo back of him next to the portrait that I had created for him. I also had an outstanding response from him with a handwritten letter, that I will keep for ever.”
Inspired by this, Hannah then set out to present the cast of Gavin & Stacey with their own portraits at several filming locations in the area. One was in Dinas Powys where filming for the fictional Essex home of Mick and Pam Shipman and son Gavin, played by actor Matthew Horne, was taking place.
Hannah continued: “Once I completed all 13 of the portraits, I tried to catch them at several different locations but missed them by a few minutes. Finally, I got the result I wanted when I went to Dinas Powys.
“I stood by the barriers holding up the Matthew Horne’s portrait that I had created for him when his car drove past. He saw this and told the team he wanted to come out and meet me. One of his team told me that Matt would love to meet me as he saw my portrait of him. They also said they would bring out a BBC documentary team to catch the moment.
“I was ecstatic. Matthew walked down the street with a big smile, he greeted me and talked to me about the portrait and how amazed he was by this. He also told me I made him look young and handsome, which I replied that he still was with a wink. I told him it was a gift from me to him as a thank you and also to get my name out into the world. Matthew was so grateful and lovely; he gave me about four big hugs!
“I am still hoping to meet the rest of the cast to handout the last of the portraits and get some fantastic pictures and memories. This journey has been incredibly exciting and looking forward to what the future holds and my career as an artist.”
Hannah Wild’s artwork can be viewed via social media at: Facebook – Wild.at.art, Instagram – wild@Art, and TikTok – Wildat_art. Email:
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